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Note - most stories are fictional and do not refer to anyone in particular living or dead. True stories will say they are true!

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Monday, March 31, 2014

In days of yore
we use an antiquated term believed to be Scottish in origin, to express walking which was by Shank’s Mare.

So many times in
response to the question, “How you going to get there?” I would say “By Shanks
Mare,” meaning I was going to walk.

The time came
when I was ever so slightly beyond Shank’s Mare and owned a Push-Mobile. It was ride a little and then push a little. The trunk was always full of old tires, tubes
and patching along with a jack or two and oh yes, a hand pump.

I had a 25’ Chevy
for a while then I moved up to a 29’ Chrysler which each time I parked I had to
raise the hood and turn the fan back a half turn so the water wouldn’t leak out
of the water pump.

Such
idiosyncrasies were of no bother for I was beyond Shank’s Mare and everyone
knew it.

It wouldn’t be
long in each case my push-mobile would become a junk-mobile and expendable. The thing was I was always just ten dollars
away from new wheels, usually with a horn that blows.

But then for some
reason I hit a dry spell and had to do my courting via public transportation
which left my hands free for a little hugging and smooching without endangering
our lives.

We took our short
honeymoon in a borrowed car and managed shortly thereafter to buy a 35’
Plymouth. Our first moves were in that
car. We just put all our belongings in
the rear seat and moved to the next place.

Some sixty odd
years later I have had a variety of old and new cars but those ten and fifteen
dollar cars still hold a fond place in my heart for it was them that got me
beyond “Shank’s Mare.”

Saturday, March 29, 2014

The next two years went by
without any issues of drama. El felt
that Clarisse and Missy moving back East solved a lot of problems for him.

Clara received a monthly
letter from each of them. It was
mandatory otherwise they wouldn’t have bothered. Strangely enough Missy had found a decent guy
among the upper crust snobs and had been married for a year.

Clarisse and her friend
Lauren were doing what she described in one of her letters as playing the
field. Missy as it turned out was
pregnant and wanted Clara to be there when she birthed her first.

Clara was excited about the
whole affair but wasn’t treated with the respect she deserved by Missy’s
husbands family.

The family wasn’t as well off
as they pretended they were and when it came to setting Missy up in a new house
they weren’t slow to ask Mayfield to pay for a lot of extravagance that was
needed to keep up the family image.

El kept his opinion to
himself concerning that but Sid’s wife Lucy had a lot to say and said it more
than once.

In the end Mayfield emptied
his bank account and set both daughters up in style. Missy’s in-laws felt they had found the answer
to their needs and kept asking for more both for Missy and themselves.

When they found out there
wasn’t any more they were quite put out.

The end result of all this
was Mayfield couldn’t afford either girl’s life style and he told Clarisse she
would have to earn her own way or come home.

Instead she elected to marry
an older man who was divorced but had quite a bit of money.

It took Mayfield a couple of
months for him to realize he was broke. He
tried to sell his share of the ranch holdings, but it required the signatures
of him, Sid and El.

Sid said I would have bought
him out but his girls would have run through the money in no time. Then they would have left him penniless with
no place to stay and Clara and Lucy being sisters they would have moved in with
Lucy and me.

As it is Mayfield will just
have enough to clear off his local debts when we sell our steers this year.

At first Mayfield was furious
when he found he couldn’t sell his share of the ranch but he knew better than
to mess with Sid. He wasn’t ready for a
trip up to the glades where many never returned from.

Buck was getting a number of
fine offspring via the mares from Argentina. They were fancier looking than El’s
favorites which were the two colts out of the mustangs. El had pretty well got them broken and they were
going to be used by El at the next roundup.

He spoiled them even worse
than he did Buck who by the way isn’t as interested in El since he had all the
mares to care for.

In a month the roundup would
be starting and then it would be a couple more months until one of the hands
would be moving to the line shack and stay there till winter was over. This year they were limiting the hands stay to
one month and then they would rotate and another hand would take over.

It can get pretty lonesome
being there for all three months by yourself. El decided to go up and check the line shack
and see if it needed any repairs.

He named his two ponies Bob. He couldn’t tell them apart so they both were
Bob. They were quite attached to him. If he was going to ride one of them the other
had to go.

Leaving one of them there
usually resulted in the barn getting a hole kicked in it or the corral
turndown. It was easier to ride one and
let the other run along side and if he was going very far to switch horses
after awhile.

When the shack came into view
El saw a couple of work horses in what was left of the corral. In it there was an old wagon with a caravan
top on it.

There was a fresh grave off
over where the ground was digable and another started. El quietly opened the door and saw a figure
sitting slumped over asleep. The person
had a shovel in their hand and there was what looked like a dead body nearby.

El slipped out and went to
the unfinished grave and finished digging it.

When he returned to the shack
the figure was beginning to stir and jumped when it realized someone was there.
It grabbed a shot gun nearby and pointed it at El.

Neither the figure nor El
said anything. Then the figure collapsed
dropping the gun.

El had unloaded the shotgun
when he was first in the cabin for he didn’t want to be shot by someone who
wasn’t all there.

El went over and was
going to drag the figure outside in the fresh air for the dead body was
beginning to smell and found the figure weighed very little. He laid it on a
cot on the porch and then wrapped the dead person in a blanket and buried it.

He got a bucket of water and
returned to the porch where he found himself staring at the shot gun he had
removed the shells from. He then
realized the figure was a female although he couldn’t tell what kind she was.

She still had the blanket
wrapped around her and was pretty well covered up. He spoke to her in gentle
tones and said for her to lie down before she fell.

Upon hearing that she eased
back down on the cot. El got the dipper
from the water bucket and gave her a drink as she lay down looking confused.

Building a fire he put on some
coffee he had brought with him and scrambled some eggs. He tried to feed her but he could only get a
little coffee with sugar in it down her.

After she lay back down El
went out and tended to her team of horses. It looked like they hadn’t had any water for
some time. He watered them and threw down some hat left over from last winter
which they ate.

It was getting too late to
head for home so El fixed a little soup made from an unlucky rabbit he had
spotted, and managed to get some of the broth down her two or three times
during the evening.

Inspecting the wagon he found
it wouldn’t be usable. The only things
of any value were pictures of people El assumed was the girl’s family. He took out the pictures and pushed the wagon
to an open spot and set it afire.

Finding a shirt and some old
pants he washed and hung them out to dry before the sun went down.

It was obvious she hadn’t
changed clothes or washed in several days, maybe weeks. He figured it was no time to worry about being
shy so he cut her rags off and washed her up as best he could. She was still
half out of it but the bath seemed to bring her to.

He put the clean shirt and
pants on her and told her they would be sleeping outside tonight. Opening the windows he removed and burnt all
the bedding for it reeked with death.

The next morning he warmed up
the broth for her and then tended to the horses. He put a rope on her horses and tied them to
one of the Bob’s.

Saddling the other Bob he sat
the girl sideways on the saddle then mounted the horse himself. He said this is going to be fun and they
headed for the ranch. He went to Sid’s
place and told Lucy he had a project for her.

He said, “I’ve done my part
now’s up to you to see if she is going to live. I’ll send one of the hands for a doctor.”

He put her horses in the
corral and the wrangler tended to them.

El was still staying with
Mayfield and he asked Clara for some food. He said, “I’m perishing,” to which she said,
“If you are perishing then I won’t waste any food on you.”

Friday, March 28, 2014

This post is an extra story and will be shared nextTuesday at:Tell Me a Story

Return tomorrow for my continued story you will find here.

Corn

I have loved corn from my
earliest memories.

It was what we ate everyday
in one form or another.

We enjoyed biscuits in the
morning and it was corn bread for what we called dinner and supper. I’ve eaten a lot of molasses and corn bread.

Part of the time we had home
made butter and sometimes not.

When the corn was green and
the ears were full it was corn on the cob and some times off the cob. I remember going into the fields and plucking
several ears of corn and shucking and pulling the corn silk from the ears.

One of the grown ups would
take a large butcher knife and first cut the corn off the cob, then they would
scrape the cob to get the milk from it. Next it was into the frying pan with some pork
side meat to fry with the corn.

Just was plain good eating; fresh
sweet corn with a smoky bacon flavor.

A ritual we followed after
the corn was dried was to go to the corn crib and pick out some large ears and
remove the end grains and then shell the grains from the ears.

Since it was all done by hand
it took some time to get enough grain for the grinding. We would take the grains to a mill about two
miles from the farm and the miller would grind it into corn meal. He would give us half and keep half for the
grinding.

I suppose today it would be
called organic for it was all natural with no pesticides.

Come winter it was back out to the corn crib
which was down to near half full by now and the shelling process was repeated. It only took about ten lbs of grain that had
been picked through and poor seeds removed to make some hominy.

Our fire place had a swinging
hook on which you could hang a three gallon cast iron pot and swing it over the
fire in the fire place.

In making hominy you need
some lye to loosen the hulls on the grain. If you didn’t have lye you could use a bag of
ashes thought it worked slower.

With the pot filled with
water, grain, and some lye it would be hung over the fireplace fire and let
cook a couple of days.Finally it took
several washings to remove the lye and the hulls but eventually you had a
palatable dish.

Fried in bacon grease it was
very tasty.

Whether it is green or
dried/ground (and now available frozen) I love corn however you fix it.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

A salesman came along and
convinced Mayfield that he needed a steam engine to do much of the work done
with horses.

He said it can even drive a
well digging machine. Several of the big
ranch owners were invited to come to the big city for some demonstrations.

Afterwards El and Sid was
convinced they should buy the basic unit and add the accessories as needed. Most of the farmer’s tasks were done in a
fourth of the time and that included the break downs. It was strange replacing some of the farmers
with mechanics but that was the way it was.

Clara got a letter from
Clarisse and Missy saying they were coming for a visit and bringing a girl
friend for El. They described the woman
as being tall and well built. She is
also chaste and prudish. When she gets
married it will be the first time a man has seen her unclad since she was born.

El asked, “When will she
arrive?”

Clara said, “Soon I suspect
and they may all be on the same train.The letter doesn’t say, but I imagine they are on their way here right
now.Charlie was sick a couple of days
and the mail is running behind.”

El said, “I’m going up to the
lake cabin and won’t be back until they are gone. My life has been so peaceful since the girls
have been away but with their return I know what is in store for me. I can tell there is something about that
letter that I should take as a warning. They have plans to make my life a
misery.”

“How long are you going to be
gone?” Clara asked, and El said, “Until someone comes and tells me they have
all left.”

Clara asked, “Are you going
to take Buck and a pack horse?”

He said, “No I don’t want to
have to care for animals while I’m there.”

She said, “I’ll get some
vittles for you what do you want?”

He said, “Same as usual, fat
back for eating and frying and maybe a bit of cornmeal for the fish fry.”

She said, “There’s bedding in
the cabin if someone hasn’t stolen it.”

He said, “Just throw together
a few things that I will need, not too much for I don’t want to overload
myself. It will take me two days to hike
there unless I’ve slowed down.”

She said, “I still think you
should take one of our pack mules.”

He said, “No, if I had a mule
I would probably want to ride after I got tired and I need the exercise. Don’t bother me except in an emergency or the
girls have gone.”

The day went well and I ate a
light meal for the next day would be more of a climb than today. When I awoke the next morning my neck was
stiff and sore from laying on a rock. If
I had brought a horse I would have used my saddle to lay my head on. In the afternoon I arrived and the fishing was
on.

Two weeks later one of the
wranglers showed up leading Buck and told him, the girls had gone and I have
been sent to fetch him. El was given a
note which said, “There was some business that needed to be taken care of so
return.”

El said, “Good for I’m
getting tired of eating fish twice a day.”

It was only going to take
five hours to return by horse where it took two days to climb up to the grade.

When he arrived home he said,
“I’m going down to the river and take a bath for I smell of fish.”

Clara said, “Well be careful.”
He wondered why she would say that.

He stripped down and
proceeded to bathe when a group of girls returned from the toilet place and
they saw him first. Clarisse proceeded
to throw mud at him and mess him up.

El said, “That wrangler is
fired. He told me that there was some
business I needed to take care of.”

Clarisse said, “We’re the
business so take care of us.”

She said, “We need to wash up
so you can leave now.”

He said, “Why should I leave
there is plenty of water.”

She said, “You just want to
see us naked.”

He said, “No, why should I
want to see some ole skinny gals when there are real women around?”

“Fat ones?” she replied?

El said, “You can leave your
drawers on if you are ashamed of what you look like.”

Missy spoke up and said, “We’ll
turn around so you can come out and get dressed then you can leave.”

He said, “Okay, turn around.”

As he got out they turned back
around and Missy said; “Are you gone, ooh no you are still here”

He said, “That was a dirty
thing to do. I think I will just stand
here and dry out and you can avert your gaze or enjoy the view.”

He said, “Is that the prudish
girl you wrote about? If she is so prudish why is she staring at me?”

Clarisse said, “Now be
careful, you know we will get even with you so don’t do anything you don’t want
payback for.”

He took his clothes and
headed to the house but said, “I might come back and take your clothes.”

Laruen asked, “Do you think
he might do that?”

Missy said, “Who cares we’ll
get even somehow.”

After getting dressed El
found the young wrangler and said, “Why didn’t you tell me it was the girls
that sent you and they were still here?”

They said I shouldn’t tell
you because it was to be a surprise.

El said, “And you believed
them.It was a surprise alright.”

All the rest of the day he
tried to avoid them but at dinner they were whispering and giggling. El said, “Don’t you think it’s time for you
ladies to grow up.”

Clarisse said, “Growing up is
all we have been doing while we were away and now we‘re going to have some fun.”

He said, “I don’t mind you
having fun but please, no more naked stuff.”

That night the teasing didn’t
stop until late in the evening.

El went to bed and he could
hear the girls planning to pull a trick on him and the new girl Lauren was in
on it.

He thought, “I have to think of some way to get even for
this.”

Around two o’clock, the new
girl tip toed into El’s room and slipped into his bed.

He had over heard what they
were going to do and was awake and waiting for this to happen. He put his arms around her and became quite
personal.

This wasn’t exactly the way
they had planned it. She managed to
finally settle him down and she dozed off to sleep. The next morning the other girls came running
in and started yelling, “We caught you in bed with our friend.”

It was Old Manny not El

Just when they thought they
had embarrassed El the rest of the household were wakened and came in the
bedroom.

El also walked in and pulled
the covers back revealing Lauren in bed with Manny, the old man who mucked out
the stables.

Clara said, “This girl you
brought home with you ... she has no decency at all.”

Mayfield said, “Way to go
Manny.” Everyone had something to say
but had trouble being heard over the screaming all three girls were doing.

Lauren covered her self up
with the covers and continued to scream while Manny just lay there grinning.

As everybody left the room
Manny said, “Do I have to go also?”

Lauren started kicking him
out of bed which only added to the grossness of the situation.

An hour later the girls were
packed and yelling for someone to get the buggy and take them to the railroad
station.

Sid had one of the hands hook
up the team for him and he drove them to the train and then got their luggage
handled for them.

The girls usually were sad to
leave Sid for he was one of their favorites but today they didn’t even say
goodbye.

That afternoon El said to Sid,
“That is the craziest thing I have ever been involved in. The girls have one more year in school and I
hope they grow up in that time for I have had enough of their tomfoolery.

It isn’t funny to me anymore.
It was okay when we were kids but enough
is in this case more than enough. It’s
too bad they were able to talk that girl into doing such a crazy thing for she
seems to be sane.”

Sid said, “The last thing he
heard her say to them was “if you tell anyone about this I’ll get even if it
takes me the rest of my life.”

El said, “I tried to avoid
them for I know how they are but it didn’t work out.”

Monday, March 24, 2014

This story is all here and is an additional post to be sharedat: Tell Me a Story
Return tomorrow for the Next Chapter in my continued story "Elliot Johanson"

.

A Chance Meeting
courtesy photobucket

MEETING BY CHANCE

Alright its time to make your
move!

“C’mon get up and go get him as
he’s there just waiting.”

“What do you mean waiting
there have been three one nighters hit on him in the last ten minutes.”

“Don’t pay that any attention
to them, we have explained to you how to overcome all objections these guys
might come up with.Girl friends and
wives are easily put aside if you follow our instructions.This is your night now don’t blow it, go get
him.”

As she started to get up
another girl tried to hit on him and he just turned his back on her without
saying anything.She, after saying some
unkind words left in a huff.

“Now go while he is still
focused on her,” the girls said.“Just
trust your instincts and you will be set for the night of your life.”

Lil got up and walked
straight over and sat down next to Aaron and said; “Buy me a drink.”

He turned to look at this
brash woman and started to reject her like the others but Lil spoke first and
said, “If you don’t buy me a drink, I will start screaming.”

Aaron looked at her in
unbelief and tried to say something but nothing would come out.“This
woman is crazy,” he thought and decided a drink might settle her down.He looked at the bar man and asked the woman,
“What do you want?”

She said, “The same as you
are having.”

Aaron said, “It is a lemon
and lime but no alcohol.”

She said, “The same for
me.”She just sat there staring at Aaron
as he gave the barkeep ten dollars and he nodded to him meaning keep the
change.

The bar man nodded back
meaning thanks.

Lil spoke and said, “Now that
I have your attention I will explain what this is all about but it will take a
little while so relax and I think you will be intrigued.”

Aaron sat silently holding
his drink but not drinking it.

She said, “To start with I
work in a large office with about a hundred men and the same amount of
women.Most are under the age of forty
with a few bosses a bit older, do you have that in mind?”

He nodded without saying
anything but was transfixed staring into her eyes.

She went on saying, “I have
never been with a man if you understand what I’m saying.”

When he heard that it broke
his gaze and he spilled part of his drink.He gasped, “What…?”

She went on and said, “I
don’t know how it got around but everyone in the office knows I am still a
virgin and I am the subject of conversation day in and out.

Almost every male in the
office building has hit on me many times and the more successful ones, you know
the real Romeos have said some unkind things after being rejected.I have found it necessary to face some of
them down and they admitted what they said was a lie but the lie leaves a
stain.

I am a very normal person in
every way but I don’t feel that satisfying some jerk’s sex drive is for me.If you can see those women making all the
noise over there they work with me and for the last three months they have been
harassing me to give it up.I have heard
it all when it comes to reasons not to be a virgin.

Finally I have had it with them and now I have decided to do
something about it…”

“Wait,” he said, you aren’t
thinking that I…”

Lil said, “Don’t interrupt
until I’m finished for you might be flattering yourself.

Understand that I want these
people I work with to think I went through with the act and what I want you to
do is take my arm and walk out with me. I
will simply wink at them and they will write the rest of the script.

Now please will you help me
or I will have to go through with this again and again with someone else. Know this I have no intention in going through
with it, so if that thought comes to your mind just forget it.”

Aaron said, “Wow that is some
story.”He went on and said, “The reason
I’m in this place where I don’t frequent at all is I have been in negotiation
with a company on a big deal and I was told to meet their representative to
sign the papers here tonight and I didn’t know it was bar where we were to
meet.”

She said, “I heard one of the
girls you turned down say you were gay, is that the case?”

He had a look of disgust come
across his face and said, “Absolutely not.” He went on and said, “I’m not interested in
dating or whatever for my wife died in childbirth eighteen months ago. I haven’t got over it fully as of yet.

These women disgust me for I
have had everything a man could want in a woman and the life style these women
pursue is repugnant to me.

Please forgive me for I was
just about to say something to you I would have regretted because I don’t speak
to women that way. If it will help you I
would be glad to take your arm and walk out of here with you.”

Lil winked at the girls as
she walked out and had a big smile on her face.

Once outside he said, “Let’s
get lost in case they come out and try to follow us. My car is here so get in and we will lose them
should they try to follow.”

As they drove alone he asked
her if she was hungry. She said yes she
was for she hadn’t had time to eat dinner.

He said the same here neither
lunch nor supper.

He then asked if she would
like to have dinner with him to which she said, “I shouldn’t but I’m starving,
so yes.”

“What do you want to eat?” he
asked and she said, “How about Italian?”

“Italian it is.” They had a long, delicious meal and began to
talk like people on a first date. Both
relaxed and became interested in what the other had to say.

It wasn’t until the place was
closing they realized they had talked for three hours. He left a large tip for the waiter who wasn’t
looking too pleased with them for sitting so long.

He talked about his wife and
the child she gave him who was now a year and a half.

Lil was captivated by the way
he spoke of his now dead wife for theirs was the kind of love women dream about
but seldom find. Just to talk with a man
who had the capacity to love as he loved his wife was exciting.

As he listened to Lil talk he
could see here was a principled woman who had been unable so far to find the
man she needed. She wasn’t willing to
settle for a man that wasn’t her equal in character and she was willing to remain
single just as she was unless he came across her path.

It was getting late so Adam
asked where she wanted to go and she said she didn’t know, to some hotel she
guessed for she didn’t expect things to go this far.

She didn’t want to go home
for she wanted her co-workers and everyone to think she had spent the night
with Aaron.

While she was undecided he
said, “You’re going home with me.”

Her mind was filled with
thoughts! Now wait, he was exactly what
she wanted in a husband, but she wasn’t ready for the honeymoon before the wedding.

While those instant thoughts
flew through her mind he said, “Now don’t get the wrong idea. My mother is at home taking care of little
Marcie and we have an extra bedroom with a lock on the door.”

She tried to let her breath
out easy so he wouldn’t know she had sucked in her lungs full or air, when he
said the words; “I’m taking you to my house.”

She said as calmly as she
could, “That would be nice.”

Upon arriving at Aaron’s home
it was a beautiful house. They found his
mother Stella in the kitchen making a cup of tea.

She acted as if she wasn’t
surprised at Aaron bringing a woman home but couldn’t pull it off very well. She told them to sit down and have some tea
with her.

Aaron said, no, he was going
to check on Marcie and get ready for bed.

Lil was still full from the
restaurant meal but said she would be happy to join her for some tea.

For the next hour they talked
about Aaron and how they met that night.

Stella thought her story was a riot.
For the last six months she had been
trying to get him to find someone to go out with but he wouldn’t budge on it.

Lil tried not to yawn but
couldn’t hold it back. Stella said, “C’mon
I’m going to put you to bed.”

She pointed to a room and
said, “I’ll be right back in a moment.”

Shortly she came in as Lil
was undressing and gave her a lacy night gown and said, “You will fit into
this.”

Lil finished undressing and
put the gown on and it was a lovely garment.

Stella said you sleep in and
when you get up we will go on with our conversation.

At eleven a maid came in to
see if Lil was awake and ready to get up. Lil heard a young child playing outside of her
room and thought that must be Marcie I have heard about.

On the foot of the bed she
spied some fresh undies the maid had put there and with those in hand she went
into her bathroom, showered and then dressed.

When toddler Marcie saw Lil
she ran over and put her arms around her legs and put her foot on Lil’s feet
and held on as Lil walked into the kitchen.

Stella told Marcie that was enough
and explained Marcie has been doing that since she could walk but was now
getting too heavy for it.

She fixed breakfast for Lil
and asked if she slept well and Lil answered, “Like a log. She went on to say, “I appreciate the undies
for I hadn’t planned on what happened and I hate the feeling of being unclean.”

Stella said, “I know the
feeling.”

Lil told Stella more about
her past and hopes for the future with Stella nodding approval as she listened.

Stella finally spoke up and
said, “That saved me asking a lot of questions and now what I want to know if
you think you could handle a child like Marcie?”

Lil said, “Her and several
more.I was the oldest of seven kids and
I had to help raise the younger ones so Marcie wouldn’t be any problem for me
but why would you ask?”

Stella said, “Maybe you don’t
know it yet, but you are my new daughter-in-law.”

Lil said, ‘Wait just a
minute, I only met Aaron last night, and I don’t really know him.”

Stella said, “You know him
better than you think. Last night the
two of you opened up your hearts to one another and what’s more important was
you accepted each other without reservations.

There are people who are
married for years and don’t reach the point you two have done in a few hours. Tell yourself how you feel about him and being
honest you will conclude you want him and you want him now.”

Lil said, “I need some air;
I’m going for a walk.”

Stella said, “Aaron is out
there somewhere. Find him and then come
back and tell me your decision.”

When she saw Aaron she
started to turn away but he had already seen her.

He quickly came over to her
and took her hands and just looked in her eyes.

As she turned her head he
placed his hand beneath her chin and gently turned her face back toward him. They stood there for a long time not speaking.

After some time he spoke and
said, “Are you ready?” and without hesitating she said, “Yes.”

Entering the house they found
Stella in the game room playing with Marcie and Aaron told her, “She said yes.”

“Yes to what?” Stella asked?

He said, “Yes she would marry
me.”

Stella said, “Is that right
Lil?”

Lil said, “Yes that’s right.
I will marry him as soon as possible for I have waited long enough and I have
found the right man. I knew I would know
him when I met him but until now he hadn’t come on the scene.”

Marcie ran over and put her
arms around Lil and said, “Mama,” which caused a tear to form in Lil’s eye.

She called in sick for three
days and when she returned to the office she had Aaron on her arm and said, “I
would like you to meet my husband for we were married yesterday and now there
isn’t a virgin in the whole office.

From this point on I will be
a housewife and mother.”

All the girls and guys
applauded and wanted to know how it came about.

Lil told her version of the
affair and invited her close friends to a wedding reception.

During the reception Stella
stood and said I want to toast the bride and groom but first perhaps we should
let them in on a secret.

About that time the man who
had asked Aaron to meet him at the bar showed up and Aaron wondered who invited
him. Stella went over to him and said
this is George who I must thank for helping me by getting Aaron into the bar
where he would never have gone on his own.

Then there are Lil’s
girlfriends who hounded Lil into going to the bar where it was setup for her to
meet Aaron.

After investigating Lil I
knew she was absolutely perfect for Aaron but getting them together was a
herculean task. Since I knew all about
Lil before we ever met personally and knew she wasn’t about to come into
contact with someone as withdrawn as Aaron.

You all know how it was
played out and the part you played and I thank you one and all.

Aaron and Lil feigned looking
shocked but then Lil said, “This is a little bit of a shock but we wish to
thank you for doing a good thing. Actually
the whole thing seems to be off the wall but the result is marvelous.”

Aaron then spoke and said, “Without
any question I must say, Mother knows best.”